Ephemeral
by Randombore
Summary: Racing against time is a fool's game. Amu and her friends discover that they are not exceptions to fate. They grow up just like any other, while changing in body, mind and spirit. They discover that with changes come new dreams and cold insecurities. Little did they know, it was never time that they had to outrun. It was their own nightmares.
1. Chapter 1: Infinity

**Author's Note**: Hello there, loves! This story will begin at the end of the anime Shugo Chara Doki and combine the plots of Shugo Chara Party and the Shugo Chara manga, but it will continue much further into the lives of our favorite characters. Yep, high school is included. Romantic and platonic relationships will come naturally, so every variation you could think of will come into picture. Everything will be as in character as possible, so nothing will be written in bias. Please keep an open mind and just enjoy the show! In-depth notes will be included at the bottom, signified by a bolded number.

* * *

_**Ephemeral**_

_Chapter 1: Infinity_

* * *

_ephemeral - əˈfem(ə)rəl_

_Adj. lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory_

* * *

_Racing against time, figuratively speaking, is a fool's game. _Time ticks forward, even when the second-hand of a clock stops. Every moment, every blink of an eye, falls through one's fingers like sand through a sift. Life, itself, is but a fleeting dream. But _time_\- time is limitless, eternal even, and it is impossible to grasp as a concept.

Despite all this, they insisted on pursuing the truth behind it. They _needed_ to know how to outrun time. Yet, little did they know, they were all signing up for a _**game**_ they could not fully comprehend.

* * *

Amu found herself rushing up a dizzying flight of stairs, which seemed to flirt with the idea of _infinity_. Or, if she had to word things more "_elegantly"_ —_the term, itself, oozing with sarcasm_— Amu was stuck in a godforsaken marathon up to who-knows-where. She _should have_ made it a point to stop... or at least consider the consequences of wandering straight into the tower's sinister embrace.

Okay, okay, enough of those big words and fancy nuances. To hell with it;she was in for a whole lot of trouble.

Monochromatic glass shards studded each stair step, completing a mosaic tile finish at its finest. At this level in the tower, the walls had strings of distorted mirrors lined against it, twisting Amu's image every which way. Oddly enough, only her face was reflected upon each surface. The distortion of her face was lost upon her, however, as Amu's focus was drawn elsewhere. She didn't notice a thing— or was it that she didn't care to notice? Her mind was everywhere and nowhere at once, racing towards one point: the top.

Deafening silence remained her only companion, eerie and stupidly befitting for the situation she had been thrown in. Silence should have besought concern, but instead, it kindled curiosity. _Curiosity! _If people _always_ decided on things by the seat of their pants, with little regard to their own wellbeing, they might as well have picked out the designs on their gravestones early.

"I can't go back now..." She murmured under her breath. Her entire body moved forward on its own.

Yes, curiosity was certainly a coy seductress, leaving snares in plain sight for the unsuspecting to fall straight into them. And currently, Amu played that role like an ace.

Her vision was hazy, steps uneven, and thoughts were misplaced every which way. She had been bumbling like a drunken sailor for _God knows_ how long, lungs aflame and hair in a flurry. Yeah, she had just the right amount of poise and elegance to compete with some poor sap with two left feet._ Honestly, _she could have brought a lady of grace and finesse, like Nadeshiko's _**(1)**_ mother or something, to shame just by the sight of her.

Exaggerated narration aside, she was a mess. And she was walking straight into a bigger mess; one of which she didn't realize might just bring her life down in shambles. She couldn't even hear a trace of her ragged breaths. Her clumsy footsteps clamored on in silence. It was as though the concept of sound had become void.

Clearly, noise was an unnecessary element to this reality, so it had been promptly snuffed out like a late-evening wax candle.

She raced on, impervious to the absence of sound itself.

Her shadows gave quite the lively performance. Their dance was teeming with such savage fervor, that, had she had time to closely examine them, she might have thought they had a life of their own. They seemed to be dripping in sinister intentions—_what_, with those pointed smiles and menacing twirls at each move she made, no one would be surprised. _They_, of course, knew infinitely more about this tower than she did, as they slipped through cracks, swept across her surroundings and hovered above her own distorted reflections.

"_Hee hee hee!" _

Through all this, she pushed forward, not taking notice in the least. Where had her mind wandered off to?

Near the top, the tower's brick walls, worn from withstanding the centuries passed, had replaced the distortion mirrors with ornate windows. They were the fancy _Rococo_ kind her mother would boast shrilly about to her magazine editor at '_Housewives' Knowledge'; _it was something that would drive the architecture nuts wild back at home. But as utterly _delightful_ as that slight change of scenery was, _sarcasm duly-noted_, there wasn't anything outside to look at.

_Nothing_. _Zilch_. _Nada_.

The scenery had been blurred out, as though the windows were just for show.

_Was she stuck in one of Tsukasa's funhouse-esque secret chambers?_

If that was the case, the man certainly had a ridiculous way of having fun.

However, she doubted that any of this was the work of someone she knew. It was far too elaborate to be some kind of vapid prank, too malicious to have been done by anyone she was familiar with. Even her enemies had reformed one by one, after all. _Who in the world set her up like this?_

Before her mind could even attemptto make any sense of what was going on, heavy, reverberating chimes shocked her out of her daze. Amu yelped like a frightened dog, nearly tripping over her own feet. Going from utter silence to New Year Bells in no time flat would do that to a girl's nerves. She shakily clung to the stair railings to steady herself, her hands ghostly pale from squeezing too hard.

_No… There was no way—_

Her gaze shot a few levels up, towards one of the upper floors. Where she had seen nothing but darkness before, Amu found herself staring up at an enormous clock face, consisting of opal glass and iron dials.

_Oh boy, did she stand corrected._

"A clock tower? I've been in a clock tower all this time?!" Her exasperated cry bounced off the walls. There was no answer, of course, but Amu hadn't exactly expected one.

The clockwork gears looked as though they hadn't moved for centuries. What was intriguing, however, was that there was no rust or age to them, just layers upon layers of dust. The hands had stopped at _11:30, _half an hour too early for any sort of clock to ring. How could the tower bells have rung if the clock itself had stopped running an eternity ago?

A deep, condescending laugh cut her thoughts off. With every obnoxious chuckle that seemed to echo from all directions, the entire tower quaked and dust crumbled from the walls. She whirled around, half-frightened out of her wits and half-curious as to who was the cause of all this. However, there was no one in plain sight. She didn't know if she felt relieved or... all the more afraid_._

"Who are you!? Come out and face me!" She had expertly disguised her fear; her voice left no hint of what was trembling underneath.

Amu tensed up, fist balled and arms up in a ready position. But how could she possibly combat something that she couldn't see? She didn't want to waste her breath, since whatever was causing mischief and mayhem had no desire to make a dramatic entrance anytime soon.

She cautiously crept up higher, until she reached the impressive circular floor on the same level as the glass frame. There was a raised platform located center stage, adorned in golden star imprints. Hm. Had Tsukasa seen it, he may have called it a 'kiss from the galaxy' or something. Too precious to be stepped on.

So instead, Amu took to observing the _art deco_ clock face, since there was nothing else of particular interest in sight. The opal glass gave off a milk-white sheen; it was seemingly unreal from even where she was standing. In its reflection, she could only see herself. Amu was now acutely aware that, somehow, she had been slipped in a pure white, laced dress. Its long tail hem trailed behind her, as she investigated the top platform warily.

Why didn't her brain work the way she wanted it to? Who was doing this to her? And what did she do to deserve this? There was definitely some kind of sick game going on here, and she wasn't about to let it go on any longer.

"_That's quite the brave face you're putting on, little girl. It was about time you noticed something was up_."

Gritting her teeth, Amu stiffened as she whipped her head back to take a good look at her culprit. Her eyes widened in silent dismay.

_Nothing._

Her eyes bolted from one end of the tower to the other, before turning around to scope out any nooks and crannies she could have missed.

_Still nothing_.

"_Relax, won't you? Don't be such a kid. How do you think you're going to fight without your Charas?_"

"What do you mea—"

With her eyebrows furrowed and a cold sweat breaking down her forehead, it took her a moment to formulate her thoughts.

As soon as it hit her, her heart nearly stopped in its tracks. _Her Charas!?_ All this time and she hadn't realized that Ran, Miki and Su had been missing! She didn't even have Dia's egg on her… How could that fact have gone right over her head?

"What did you do to them? **Who are you!?**"

Another grating laugh pierced the silence. Again, the ground vibrated from underneath her.

"_It wouldn't be all that fun if I told you right away, my dear. Put a pretty smile on for me, won't you?"_

The grimace Amu returned wasn't at all what the voice had wanted.

"How's about a scowl instead, you coward! Come out where I can see you!" she answered smarmily.

"_I doubt you actually want to see me, heh heh! It's not like you pulled out any warm welcomes or some nice cheese samples, you know."_

All of a sudden, Amu caught something in the corner of her eye—something that made her heart nearly leap out of her chest. The _shadows… _They were _dancing _off the walls, _smirking, spiraling_ around where she was standing. She could almost hear them erupt in wicked snickering and profanities, their very presence flourishing from her displeasure. Even without making a sound, they seemed to smite her.

This was all just a game to them.

But the truly peculiar thing was: these shadows...** They weren't her own.**

In fact, they were matching silhouettes of her friends and family, menacing and ominous. And they were drowning in peals of abhorrent laughter.

_They were laughing at her._

She doubled back in shock _(or was it involuntary pain?)_, tripping onto the raised platform she had been careful to step around before. For one thing, she had not accounted her clumsiness to be her downfall. And for another, she hadn't expected the laughter to sting so deeply. But that was just her luck, wasn't it?

Her untactful reaction was just the thing needed to incite a brutal quake that rocked the tower mercilessly. It brought her to her knees.

One by one, the stairs lit up in an incandescent, otherworldly glow. The trail of lights spiraled upwards, leaving no brick, no crack, no shadow untouched. Orbs, almost like fireflies, began to float about, sifting in and out of the walls carelessly.

Before she knew it, the clockwork gears had begun to clank once more. The years of dust left swollen clouds in the air, causing the place to become musty and unbearable for a few moments. She could have coughed out a lung for all the wind being knocked out of her.

Rubbing her eyes clear, she squinted towards the roof, since it seemed as though the voice had been coming from up there.

"Is that all you've got? I want answers! Not an old clock tower reboot!" She had mustered a last ditch effort to look somewhat valiant in a time of utter confusion.

The clock's hands had a surging start, trembling from the very force that had brought them back to life. Florescent colors lit up the clock face, but Amu couldn't find it in herself to look away. She was bewitched, _enamored_, by the overflowing hues and gradients. Her right arm rose on its own, reaching out towards the sheen that cut through the musk. She couldn't even muster the strength to lower it.

"_You won't find any answers quite yet. So why not just sit back and enjoy the show, my dear?"_

Before she knew it, she was entirely submerged in light.

* * *

She found herself face down, kissing the floor.

The sound of the rain outside came down in muddled thuds. The wind howled in whispers. It was as though she was submerged underwater, as the background noise was indistinct, distorted almost. There was a distinct lack of warmth that clung to her like soliciting fingers.

Instinctively pulling her overflowing dress skirt up to get off the ground, she angrily grumbled about the inconvenience of it all. Whose bright idea was it to stuff her in a dress, anyway? The thought of someone doing that to her was giving her the goosebumps.

"Ugh_!" _She groaned, before pushing herself up and familiarizing herself with the setting she had been thrown in.

The cold grease smell and train tracks weren't exactly making it hard for her. _Hanamura __Central Station? _It was a bit peculiar to be here at this time of night, when the last train had already left.

The muddy lights flickered weakly over the typical signs and maps, humming low as though they would die out any time soon. She rubbed the side of her arm, attempting to warm herself up in vain.

No crowds, no voices. It was a desolate area.

"_One fit for a lowlife king, don't 'cha think?" _It was that condescending voice again, omnipotent and exasperating.

"What the heck are you talking abou—"

She pivoted on her heels to check and _—as it was plainly entailed_—she caught sight of a familiar blonde head of hair. He seemed as though he had been staring wistfully at one of the train tunnels for quite a while now.

_Alone._

"Tadase-kun? _Tadase-kun!" _She tried rushing to his side, reaching out to him worriedly. He never looked like that, outside of the times where she didn't tell him the trut- _no, there was no time for that guilt train. _He never looked like that, other than the times he couldn't hold the hurt in.

For a moment, she had actually clung onto the hope that he had heard her. His shoulders loosened on cue and he turned to extend a lukewarm smile, yet... His gaze never settled in her direction for even a moment. It was horribly _disheartening_ to become this kind of- this kind of _ghost. _To see just exactly what was going on, but to be separated by a thin veil.

_Was all this just some kind of illusion?_

It seemed all too real to question the line between reality and fantasy.

He gave a down-turned gaze at the floor, with a somber aura of which she, herself, could almost feel. Yet, the longer the strides she took towards him were, the farther off he seemed to be.

"Let me help him!" The exclamation came out as an odd mix of pleading and demanding. Her stare whirled frantically in various directions. She was talking to nothing but thin air. How pitiful.

"Just let me go_!_"

She managed to shoot out one arm towards him, trembling vigorously as an unknown pressure was forcing her back. If she couldn't move by her own will, who was pulling the strings?

"_He doesn't need you, dearie."_

Her eyes widened as Tadase dashed her way, scarf in a bundle and umbrella raised. Kiseki followed in a speedy pursuit. Neither, however, met her gaze.

"Tada-"

They both raced passed her, into the lurid embrace of the rain. His footsteps kept her company for only a few moments more before vanishing altogether. Silence. Pure silence.

_A ghost. _She had somehow taken on the role of a ghost. Or perhaps she should say: the role had been forced onto her. And she absolutely _hated_ it.

_"You weren't ever needed in the first place."_

Amu ignored the cruel suggestions; she couldn't let it get to her. She just had to swallow up the pricking feelings that were beginning to weigh on her self-confidence. This- all of this- was nothing she couldn't handle. It wasn't like her diehard attitude failed her before.

Determined to prove her worth, she plowed forward, headfirst like a bull seeing red.

"_Nuh uh uh, missy. It's time to move on!"_

She was whisked away, the scenery and Tadase fading into nothingness.

Reaching an acceptable state of consciousness (anything was better than staying blacked out for good), Amu realized that she was inelegantly sprawled out on the front door of Tsukasa's observatory. After rubbing the back of her head, she shook an angry fist up towards the sky.

"Take me back, you horrible piece of-!"

Her exclaims were answered with silence.

After trying for the door or to clarify, trying and _failing, _Amu floated towards the window. Again, she had arrived at a _coincidentally_ critical point in time. Ikuto and Tsukasa were arguing, quite vehemently she had to add. Or rather, it was Ikuto who seemed off put by what Tsukasa was saying. Tsukasa _never _raised his voice, after all, not even in this vision.

She knocked on the window, trying to get their attention, but nothing could turn their heads her way. A chill bit at the ends of her fingers. None of this made sense! Why was she being tossed into such intimate situations like these?

Ikuto's scowl had settled in, clenching his jaw in an almost territorial way. Tsukasa, unmoved, kept a steady gaze on his young companion. Whatever was going on in there was definitely giving off sparks of vitriol. Knocking once more for an attempt's sake, she nearly hopped up in elation as the two both turned their attention towards her. She waved, signaling for them to open up, overlooking the embarrassment of explaining herself afterwards.

However, their stares remained in her direction... And the conversation continued without any indication of pausing for her. Before long, Amu felt her heart plunge towards the pit of her stomach. They had been staring through her all along.

"_Your attempts are __**futile,**__ sweetheart."_

The cold tips of her fingers boiled in violent heat. Surely, a dynamite wick lit for far too long would hit its limit. Amu _snapped._

"How _dare _you! Why are you showing me these things if you won't let me change them?" She shouted in anguish, with fists so tight that her nails were gnawing into her palms. "Am I just some useless toy to you?"

An obnoxious chuckle filled the air. It was one that tangled her own stomach in knots.

"_That's it, honey! That's __**exactly**__ it!"_

_"_What are you even saying? You can't possibly think I'd just let myself fall for a bag of lies from the likes of you!"

_"Now, now. That's enough from you. Let's have a final change of scenery to celebrate your self-awareness, shall we?"_

In a blink, she was gone.

* * *

She could see the entire city of Seiyo from where she was sitting.

_Where was she sitting anyway…?_

The pressure from up here was starting to make her feel a bit lightheaded-

_Oh God._

She desperately clung onto her seat for her life.

It must have certainly have been _hilarious _for that all-knowing voice to just drop her wherever it pleased. Yes, she- she had been placed on one of the clock tower's hands.

Trying to balance herself on her feet, she stared out into the vast spans of velvet sky. The stars seemed so... _indifferent. _Nothing was out of the ordinary, as everything above and below her blinked, shimmered and bustled so casually through life.

It was maddening.

"**Who do you think you are!? **Just _tell _me already, since you're done dragging me '_sightseeing'_!"

"_After all this time… you still don't know who I am?" _The voice paused, as though it was shaking its metaphorical head.

"Do you think I'd be asking if I didn't know?" She folded her arms against her chest, trying to give off a resilient attitude.

"_I control your __**beginning**__, your __**end **__and every little pitiful thing in __**between**__. I am the thing people want most in the world and the very same horror that people try to run from."_

Amu felt her whole body stiffen, as she could neither move nor resist being moved. She convulsed, jerking violently against her will.

_I have to fight this!_

Grimacing, she tried to ball up her fingers into fists; _anything... anything to resist this. _Her hands whipped open again, as if on another's command, and before she could blink, her arms were swung up towards the scarlet stretch of sky. Amu was bound in an eerie cross-like position, helpless and defeated.

As she stared up at the hues of dark violets and reds, Amu realized that something connected to her was glinting ominously in the low light.

_Oh god._

She had been attached to puppet strings the entire time.

"_Your tiny existence means __**nothing**__. You saw it for yourself, didn't you? Your friends are all out there, with secrets and problems you weren't supposed to ever know about. They all have issues that you could never truly help them with!"_

With every second ticking away, she was being forcibly controlled. _One step forward at a time_. She was certainly flirting with death at this point. And there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop herself.

_**STOP! **__She wanted to shriek. __**FIGHT IT!**_

Unfortunately, her thoughts remained trapped inside her head. She couldn't make a sound.

_And... it was too late._

"_I am __**time."**_

Her last step met thin air and she rapidly plummeted off the clock tower.

"_And you, my dear, are_ _merely_ _**ephemeral**__."_

* * *

Amu jolted up from her bed, in fervent tears.

* * *

**[Afternotes]:**

_**(1)**_ Amu still calls Nagihiko by his girl name because this is before Yu and Yukari's wedding; she is still terribly clueless.

**Date Updated: 12/31/15 (In pending- May delete and rewrite)**

_**Please review! It is considerable encouragement!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Fool's Game

**Author's Note: **Thank you for sticking around! I will try and update every other week if possible. Please review so I can keep my motivation up! If you are an old follower from months back, please keep in mind that the first chapter has been radically changed and this chapter has also been changed. This chapter is dedicated to Aimz, of whom I had quite a number of nice conversations with.

* * *

**Ephemeral**

_Chapter 2: Fool's Game_

* * *

_Racing against time, figuratively speaking, was a fool's game. _Yes, he was quite aware of it, but as fundamentally sound as he was, he wasn't one to leave questions unturned. As soon as… As soon as things were done here, he would take things into his own hands.

Steady sheets of rain showered over the local train station. It left a hint of crisp spring in the air, though the typical gentle colors of the incoming season were nowhere to be seen. The bursting cherry blossoms were drenched in thick droplets, tussled by an occasional gust. He stood alone against the bustling streams of monochromic-clad men and women, all seeking a cramped spot on the transit to the next city.

Tadase stuck out like a sore thumb, standing there with an unspoken purpose written upon his soft features. He tucked himself under a rusted wall-lamp near the entrance of the station as it bathed him in an unsteady flicker of saffron.

He made it clear that he wasn't here for a ride. His place was here and, in fact, he had both feet firmly rooted to this peculiar city of friend and foe, of unrelenting change, and... _of family._

What exactly was this familiar sense of defeat that washed over him?

It was the same lonesome feeling that anyone would get if they were used to watching someone's backside recede into a faceless crowd.

Tadase sighed, shaking his head out of disapproval over his own thoughts. _Really, _there was no need for melodramatics.

Sentimentality? _Sure_.

But this? _No, thank you_.

All he wished was for his chest to stop its dull aching, simply for the couple that would leave him once more.

As a detached voice drawled over the intercom, Tadase's garnet eyes flickered over to the automatic glass doors that were sliding closed. Moreover, he was taking one last glance at the middle-aged couple _behind _those doors.

_For them. This was all for them._

It was cold on this side of the station- bitter and inevitably lonely as well. But his lips curled into a gentle smile and he found himself waving farewell as though nothing was wrong, as though he was perfectly happy. And he sure hoped _they_ believed it. His eyes betrayed nothing, as the couple returned his gesture with stiff ones of their own.

The train rolled out of the station, as the couple's tired faces slipped out of sight, though not out of mind. Closing his eyes for a moment, Tadase etched their solemn smiles into his head once again. He was used to this by now- or at least, he should have been. The fading noise of those cranking train wheels, the rustle of stray newspapers and the sound of silence, all converging into a scene he had become accustomed to over the years.

_They _were present when he was younger. That's what counted, correct? Nowadays, _they _were only at home when it was convenient to them. And those days were gradually dwindling as he grew older.

_They_ needed to maintain stable associations within the family's company. Moreover, _they_ had a particular obligation to supervise the marketing outlets of Easter. Under secrecy, of course. Tadase knew they were merely watching over it from afar; had they actually known where all the funds were actually going, he would have talked to them himself. But to them, it was all for a best friend who left everything, _everyone,_ behind. _They_ were constantly on the go. Business knew no bounds, after all.

Yes, surely, _they _had their reasons. _**(1) **_It was just something he was forced to accept a long time ago, despite the acrid taste it left in his mouth.

And so, he was alone, accompanied only by the dull thud of rain against the station's roof and a string of strained smiles.

"Tadase. _Tadase!" __**(2)**_

A gruff voice resonated above him, giving him a swift reminder that he was never _really _alone.

"There is nothing else for us to see, so let's head out."

Kiseki floated down to look his kid in the eye before snapping his gaze away. Crossing his arms against his chest, he huffed. "Hmph. Don't forget! A king holds himself straight. _Through rain and wind_!"

Tadase dropped another smile just for him, though it felt warmer in every way.

"Yes… I suppose you're right, Kiseki," His weary gaze dropped away from the tunnel that swallowed _them_ up for another month or so.

_It was nothing._

Tadase pivoted on his heels, turning towards the dimly lit entrance. His footsteps clacked out of rhythm. In fact, he felt as if he had been hanging by mannequin strings, taut and strained from a force other than his own.

Yeah, he definitely needed to get out of here before he drowned in a puddle of his own thespian poetry.

Pulling his black umbrella overhead, Tadase hurried out into the rain. Evening had settled on the horizon. He strolled sluggishly, past obstructive puddles and battering waves of rain drops. No matter how much his thoughts ebbed and waned, there were some memories that bubbled to the surface.

He reminisced of his grandmother's astute prudence, the kind of shrewd insight that danced in the light of her eyes. The songs of his youth with the Tsukiyomi Family burst from the seams of his mind. And the faces of his friends played back in his head, their smiles lopsided and emanating with the awkward glow of adolescence.

It wasn't like him to let something like _this_ get to him. This was for _them. _He _had_ to keep going, he _had_ to hold his head up, he just needed to convince himself that...

'_I'll be… okay.'_

The rain stopped for no one. Tadase took to following the streetlights, taking in too much at once while not taking in anything at all. The world seemed to solely consist of blurs, abstract like strokes of watercolor on a blank canvas.

He continued to wander, although his shadow made more of a presence than he did.

As his shadow crossed each light that struck the ground in ripples, Tadase found his way past Seiyo's gated entrance. He swept across the grounds, paying no mind to the monumental school that made its presence known for miles.

Now, there were days when Tadase couldn't have enough of the rain: when it rapped against his window in heavy sheets, let him collect his thoughts or even when it cleared away. Something about it usually seemed… just right.

But today, as he found himself winding up the road towards the observatory, he could have thought twice about that preference.

Light cascaded from the observatory doors, abruptly stopping his thoughts in their tracks. A single voice pierced through the rain.

"Tadase-kun? Come in, come in... You must get out of the rain before you catch something."

It wasn't _them _but... at least it was _someone._

* * *

"Don't you think it's about time-"

A coarse scoff snuffed the life out of that answer. Tsukasa was asking for too much this time.

"'Can't say I share the same sentiments, Tsukasa." He was tentative, disconcerted almost. As inconspicuous as he tried to play it off as, Ikuto was far too sore to keep a stoic face.

Yoru huffed in agreement; a true yes-man at heart, hmm?

"Now, now. I must say that your time frequenting the world with me had come to an end a long time ago, Ikuto."

Tsukasa continued, turning away from him.

"As such, your companionship is not demanded."

"Cut the crap, Tsukasa. I'm not going home. Not yet, anyway," Ikuto dismissed Tsukasa's oh-so subtle hint to get him out of here and back home to his mother.

"Souko… After all this, is she not to be forgiven?"

_It's not that but… _

Ikuto opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't come up with something that would trump Tsukasa at his own game. Because, after all, Tsukasa was _right. _But at the same time, _very, very wrong. _

Certainly, Ikuto had to talk to her. She alienated their family with that second marriage of hers but… She did it to make sure they were financially stable.

Money wasn't everything. But he could see why she did the things she did. _Adults. _The choices they made were far more complicated than he could wrap his mind around.

It was still a sickening thought, however. He wasn't built to forgive immediately.

"It's not that easy, Tsukasa. You know it isn't."

"...I see. Well I suppose," He paused, taking a short look out the window. _**(2) **_ "...That nothing ever is as simple as it seems."

Ikuto's gaze followed and he caught on quite quickly to the situation. Yoru seemed to realize the same thing, as he meowed warily.

"You invited Kiddy- Tadase, too? What are you trying to play at, Tsukasa?"

He… also had business with Tadase he needed to talk out. But the time and place for this wasn't now.

"Absolutely nothing, Ikuto-kun. He came here on his own volition. Surely you know that fate works in ways even I don't understand."

"...Right."

He took to one of the back windows, opening it up before Tsukasa could stop him. Not that Tsukasa did anything of the sort; he just observed silently as Ikuto tried to get his footing straight. There was something about that look in Tsukasa's eyes that…

"What's wrong now?" Ikuto murmured.

Tsukasa tossed him an umbrella, before answering. "I think you know what's wrong."

Ikuto snorted, and before Tadase could reach the door, he was already flipping into the rain.

Yeah. He knew what was wrong.

He was running again.

* * *

Fingers twined around the silver cross that hung by his collarbone. Lying back against his own bed, of which seemed just about the same as he last left it, Ikuto's gaze focused on nothing in particular. Same old room, same old bed, same old dusty, neglected desk- everything seemed unaffected, indifferent even. Nothing about the world had changed.

Nothing aside from himself, that is.

How could he put it? He couldn't particularly describe how it felt in words.

_'…Like a dream?'_

Bah, what was he, _twelve?_ Ikuto rolled to his side, lifting his attention to the soothing rhythm that tapped against his window. The rain had lightened up, but it still seemed like hell for anyone who was unfortunate enough to get stuck outside. Perhaps that was the cat-like instinct speaking, though.

"Ikuto, nyaa," Yoru floated overhead, coming to a rest on his shoulder. He stretched out each stiff limb, loosening the knots in his tiny shoulders.

"I'm glad you're back! I-I really am..." His voice strained by the stress of weeks past. Yoru had been doing whatever he could to express his relief; that, of course, meant breaking down in tears every so often. They had reunited for only a day, after all.

No matter how many times Yoru chose to tell him, Ikuto's chest ached in a joy he couldn't particularly express. Alongside the joy came a pang of guilt for leaving his Shugo Chara alone for so long.

Wordlessly, he pat Yoru's head in subtle affection. It wasn't like him to say much about the matter. Just this was enough.

"You'll have to get used to me being around again, Yoru," Ikuto smirked half-heartedly. He wasn't all that great at lightening the atmosphere, but thankfully, silent understanding was what bridged their relationship.

And time continued to slip away, just like that. Yoru was fast asleep in his egg; his candle was probably burned on both ends. Once again, he was left to wallow in his own thoughts.

He couldn't exactly register how much time he spent staring up at the ceiling, mulling things over repeatedly. The way Ikuto's body ached, he wasn't in the mood to do much of anything _besides _thinking. Having his body controlled by the elder Hoshina and Easter took a toll on his health, of which only recently had a day or so to recover.

How difficult was it to accept that his life was back to normal?

_'I take that back.'_

His life never really _was _normal to start with.

He was correct from the very beginning; this '_normality' _was more like a dream than reality. As much as Ikuto hated to admit it, he didn't know what to do now that he had the freedom to do as he wished. Or rather, _he wasn't ready_ for the future quite yet.

There were things he had yet to let go of. The vibrant pain, the pangs of betrayal, and the steely grasp of desire for a dream he could never have- those emotions he had locked away for years were something he could not easily cut away from. _He wasn't ready_.

To forgive was a task not yet fit for Ikuto Tsukiyomi. Not yet.

A hesitant knock at his door snapped him back into reality. Without an answer of permission from Ikuto, the shadow from underneath the door stood pensive, as if waiting for a command. Ikuto watched it numbly, before turning his body away and shutting his eyes.

_'Not yet.'_

His ears piqued, catching the irritating squeak of his door gradually swung open.

_He wasn't ready._

"Ikuto…?" The voice, smooth as velvet, called out his name tentatively, as if it wasn't aware of whether it would get a reply. _He wasn't ready._

The shadow of a broken, middle-aged woman edged closer before resting steadily on his figure, which was turned away from her.

"Ikuto, I think… I think we need to talk."

_Not yet._

* * *

"Oh my…" Tsukasa's flittering voice drawled behind an eloquent smile.

"I suppose this is a checkmate, Tadase." He, who in many cases was considered a reflection of what Tadase's future would be, glowed in gentle aloofness.

"Ah... well it was a good game, Tsukasa. Though I definitely _will_ beat you next time!" The young challenger in question wore a mask that was impossible to read. Any hint of desperate curiosity or mild frustration was lost beneath the calm glimmer of his garnet irises. Tadase's gaze absentmindedly followed the tip of his own finger, of which was twirling his king's piece restlessly on its round edge.

It was a much needed distraction from the flittering thoughts that plagued his mind.

Again with that soft grin that knew too much. It was partially because of him—_yes, only partially_—that Tadase wanted to learn how to read people. But of course, Tadase still had a lot to learn if he ever wanted to understand what Tsukasa shrouded beneath that unassuming smile of his.

"Tsk, tsk. Little did I know, you've been growing up to be quite the straightforward young man, Tadase. Does winning mean so much to you?"

Kiseki chimed in on impulse, huffing with an air of confidence that was borderline eccentric. "Of course-!"

"-Not, Tsukasa." Tadase cut him off, swiftly and peacefully. He had gotten far too experienced at taking Kiseki down a notch.

"There's no need to stuff words in my mouth, Kiseki..."

"But-"

Winning? Was that even something of concern? Well, his dreams _had_ always gone along the lines of '_world domination_' or '_being the king of my own little world_'. In a way, he supposed that he really did want to win… but to say that _that _was _all_ he wished for… That couldn't have been it, right? Flipping his gaze from Kiseki to Tsukasa, he responded accordingly.

"Well- Actually, I don't think it'd be bad to be victorious."

"Hmph, so you've decided to reinforce your king's motives after all, _haha_!"

"However, I doubt that winning is the _only _point," Tadase cut off his guardian character once more.

Normally, he'd give an easy laugh to brush off Kiseki's outbursts, sweeping the peculiar mix of secondhand embarrassment and resignation under the rug. But for this moment in time, Tadase could not simply laugh it off.

Simply winning a game was never the point, right? He had begun to question what his goals of world domination actually curtailed… There must have been something else to it.

"You know exactly what my feelings around this matter are," Tadase's voice did not waver, despite the partial doubt that unrelentingly flirted with his mind.

"Do I?" Tsukasa inquired casually. "Tadase, _you_ should know better than_ I_ about the matters of your heart. Or are you saying you don't exactly know what you're playing for?" He was having a jolly good time twisting Tadase's words around, wasn't he?

It was not the first time Tsukasa's quick wit slipped the ground away from beneath Tadase's feet nor would it be the last.

"I-" A pause. Self-doubt was an unwelcome friend that leered its familiar face through the window. _So much for a comeback._

Tadase had had enough of these playful quips back and forth. "The Embryo, Tsukasa! There's something about it that is off."

Legend had it that an egg of tremendous power would be able to grant one's greatest wish. But, _supposedly, _generations had passed without any successful encounters, leaving behind only tales of unfruitful searches. _**(3)**_ Even Tadase and his friends had failed to capture the Embryo, but there was a shared understanding that life would go on, even if they never did. Time had a knack of moving forward, after all.

Something still struck Tadase's mind as odd though. This entire business about Shugo Charas, Dream Eggs and the Embryo itself was still an enigma, _really-_ and he was determined to make sense of it all.

"I'm only playing this game because you won't say a word about it unless I beat you." What Tadase wanted was the truth and nothing but the truth. It was unfortunate that the truth had to come with a price.

"So you're playing this game with the understanding that I might not have what you're looking for?" That was a pressing question. What if Tsukasa was playing him for a fool? He wasn't one to manipulate out of malicious intent, but perhaps Tsukasa really _didn't_ know any more than the rest of them did.

He may not have had any information that Tadase didn't already know. But despite all that…

His garnet gaze shone in defiant persistence.

"I'm willing to find out."

_A fool's game it may be. But it was a game he was willing to play._

* * *

**[Afternotes]**_**:**_

_**(1)**_ Aside from flashbacks and about two nonchalant references, Tadase's parents were absent in all present scenes that were centered around his house, giving off the impression that they were the on-again-off-again type of parents. His grandmother was his main caretaker until her bedridden injury.

_**(2) **_Did you think it was Amu? If you did, you are silly readers. If you didn't, now you can see the parallels of the first chapter.

_**(3)**_ Episode 36-37's Shuraiya arc, with the foreign prince looking for a queen, mentions that Shuraiya's father had once gone to Seiyo also seeking the Embryo. Shuraiya was convinced that he'd try to attain it for himself as well. Its story has reached far and wide.

**Date Updated: 7/21/15**

**Reviews would be appreciated!**


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